The House Energy and Commerce Committee has unveiled an extensive and carefully coordinated package consisting of nineteen proposed laws designed to enhance the protection of minors in the digital sphere. This ambitious initiative positions Congress to potentially approve some of the most consequential legislation governing internet activity in recent memory. At the same time, it rekindles an enduring national debate over the limits of free expression on the web and the proper role of government in moderating online spaces.
The Subcommittee on Commerce is scheduled to review and debate these proposals during a formal hearing on Tuesday. Among the most prominent—and controversial—measures up for consideration is the Kids Online Safety Act, commonly referred to as KOSA. This particular bill has become the emotional centerpiece of a movement championed by parents who have suffered unimaginable losses: the deaths of their children after exposure to a range of digital dangers such as online harassment, sextortion schemes, and the ease of obtaining illicit drugs through social media networks and digital marketplaces. These parents view KOSA as a moral imperative to hold technology companies accountable for the harm that can occur on their platforms.
However, the latest version of KOSA differs significantly from the version overwhelmingly approved by the Senate last year. That earlier iteration contained a key provision known as the “duty of care,” which would have imposed a direct legal obligation on digital platforms to minimize foreseeable harms caused by their algorithms and content systems—harms that might manifest as eating disorders, depression, or other mental health challenges. Critics of that language had sounded the alarm that such sweeping responsibility could unintentionally suppress lawful online speech, including sensitive and supportive resources related to the very issues the act sought to address. To mitigate these concerns, lawmakers have removed that contentious clause.
In the revised House draft, the duty-of-care requirement has been replaced with a narrower but still binding obligation that compels social media and similar platforms to adopt and enforce “reasonable policies, practices, and procedures” to mitigate four clearly delineated categories of harm. These categories are: explicit threats or acts of physical violence; sexual exploitation or abuse; the sale, distribution, or consumption of illicit substances, tobacco, cannabis, alcohol, or gambling products through digital channels; and financial harms arising from deceptive or fraudulent practices. Importantly, the law recognizes differences in company size, user reach, and technical resources, ensuring that compliance measures remain proportionate to each platform’s scale and operational complexity. The updated draft also broadens the bill’s reach to include nonprofit entities operating digital services, extending accountability beyond strictly commercial enterprises.
The comprehensive package introduced by the Committee does not stop at KOSA. It incorporates several additional pieces of legislation with major implications for digital regulation. One of these, the App Store Accountability Act, mirrors state-level efforts already enacted in various jurisdictions. It would require app stores to implement robust age-verification mechanisms and to communicate verified age signals to application developers, thereby creating a more consistent layer of protection for underage users. Another key proposal, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act—frequently called COPPA 2.0—would expand existing privacy safeguards by raising the age threshold for protection from children under thirteen to all minors under seventeen, and by prohibiting targeted advertising directed at those individuals. Also included is the Reducing Exploitative Social Media Exposure for Teens (RESET) Act, which is circulating as a discussion draft and would make it unlawful for social media platforms to permit users younger than sixteen to establish or maintain personal accounts.
This renewed burst of legislative activity marks a turning point following a period of congressional hesitation. Just last year, House Republican leaders chose not to advance KOSA despite its overwhelming bipartisan approval in the Senate, where it passed with a remarkable 91–3 vote. Concerns voiced at that time by Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, also of Louisiana, centered on possible conflicts with constitutional free speech protections and questions about whether such laws could survive judicial scrutiny. Their decision fueled accusations from detractors who claimed that the leadership’s hesitation stemmed not only from legal caution but also from the influence of significant technology-sector investments present within their home state.
Now, with political momentum shifting and public demand for child safety in the digital environment growing louder, the House appears poised to revisit this issue in earnest. Nevertheless, the contours of the current proposal differ markedly from the framework that dominated discussions a year ago. Though it represents a more measured and legally cautious approach, there remains no certainty that any of these bills will ultimately be enacted. Still, the unveiling of this nineteen-bill package signals a meaningful and perhaps decisive step toward redefining how the United States governs the intersection of technology, commerce, safety, and freedom of expression in the online age.
Sourse: https://www.theverge.com/news/829492/house-energy-commerce-kids-online-safety-package
